The Recruitment of Elitesto the Cabinets of Iran: a Biographical Analysis (1979–1989)

 
PIIS086919080023790-6-1
DOI10.31857/S086919080023790-6
Publication type Article
Status Published
Authors
Occupation: Senior Lecturer; Junior Research Fellow
Affiliation:
National Research University Higher School of Economics
Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Address: Russian Federation, Moscow
Journal nameVostok. Afro-Aziatskie obshchestva: istoriia i sovremennost
EditionIssue 1
Pages76-92
Abstract

The article highlights the main patterns of recruiting ministers in the Iranian governments at 1979–1989. The work is based on the theoretical foundation of the study of the elites. Structural biographical analysis is the research method in the article. The paper analyzes the biographies of 183 ministers at the first 7 governments of Iran using aggregated form based on secondary data published by other researchers. The results of the work show that the first 3 years of the existence of the executive branch were the most conflicting: 5 governments existed consequently. 55–65% of all ministers had technical education. At the same time, the share of members of governments with humanitarian specialization decreased; the military and doctors had been replacing them. According to the place of education, the only balanced government was the Bazargan government, later the share of ministers with Iranian education increased, and with Western education decreased. The governments of Bazargan and the Council of the Islamic Revolution were balanced, where bureaucrats, scholars and professionals were relatively evenly represented. The main profession becomes bureaucratic. During this period, new elite groups emerged in governments: Shiite clergy and veterans of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The share of clergy from remains stable and fluctuates in the range of 9–14%. At the same time, the yield of veterans of the IRGC increases with each new government, reaching 21% in the second government of Mousavi. 60–70% of ministers came from regional capitals, and Tehran and Isfahan were the key provinces to recruit ministers.

Keywordsadministrative elite, Cabinet, Iran, elite recruitment, bureaucracy, biographical analysis
Received08.02.2023
Publication date26.02.2023
Number of characters31647
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ВВЕДЕНИЕ

2 11 февраля 1979 г. аятолла Хомейни назначил Мехди Базаргана первым премьер-министром после падения режима Пехлеви. За последующие 2 года в стране сменилось ещё 4 правительства, и только в ноябре 1981 г. произошла относительная стабилизация её политической системы.
3 В течение 10 лет с 1979 г. внутри постреволюционного иранского режима произошёл ряд событий, повлиявших на его состояние: кризис с американскими заложниками; Ирано-Иракская война; конфликт первого избранного президента Абольхасана Банисадра с аятоллой Хомейни; теракт, приведший к гибели президента Али Раджаи и премьер-министра Мохаммад-Джавада Бахонара в 1981 г. Этот период заканчивается завершением Ирано-Иракской войны, смертью аятоллы Хомейни и конституционной реформой 1989 г. По её итогам политическая система Ирана сильно изменилась: был упразднён пост премьер-министра, все полномочия перешли к президенту [Milani, 1993]; была создана Ассамблея по определению целесообразности как институт для разрешения конфликтов между различными ветвями власти [Ghiabi, 2019]. В целом этот период был переходным, когда, с одной стороны, создавались новые политические институты, а с другой – старые меняли свои функции и/или демонтировались.
4 Целью данной статьи является анализ паттернов рекрутирования элит в первые правительства Ирана, от возникновения Исламской республики в 1979 г. до Конституционной реформы, смерти аятоллы Хомейни и передачи власти в стране аятолле Хаменеи в 1989 г.
5 Данные для данного исследования были извлечены из «Postrevolutionary Iran: A Political Handbook» [Boroujerdi, Rahimkhani, 2018], где, в том числе, даны краткие биографии около 3000 представителей элит Ирана после Исламской революции, собираемые авторами в течение 14 лет. Из вторичных данных были собраны биографии членов правительств 1979–1989 гг., всего 183 назначения в 7 правительств. Полученные количественные данные в процентах были округлены до десятых долей процента. Поскольку исследование обзорное, оно не претендует на высокий уровень детализации. В данном исследовании был использован структурно-биографический метод. Все биографии были стандартизованы по критериям места получения образования, специализации, принадлежности к Корпусу стражей Исламской революции (КСИР) и духовенству, провинциальному происхождению. Далее они были сопоставлены по составам правительств.
6 Кроме того, в данном исследовании исключён анализ правительств по политическим фракциям. Сделано это по причине сложности атрибуции членов правительств, т. к. политические движения и организации, которые они представляют, меняли свою принадлежность в политическом спектре Ирана. При этом для иранских политиков типичными является ситуации, когда они принадлежат к одной фракции, а избираются от другой [Razavi, 2010]. Данная неопределённость мешает явно идентифицировать идеологическую принадлежность соответствующих министров.

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The Number of Cabinet Members of Iran, 1979–1989. (Рисунок_1._Количество_членов_правительств_Ирана,_1979–1989_гг._Figure_1._The_Number_of_Cabinet_Members_of_Iran,_1979–1989..jpg, 56 Kb) [Download]

The Distribution of the Cabinet Members of Iran by the Specialization, 1979–1989, % (Рисунок_2._Распределение_членов_правительств_Ирана_по_специальностям,_1979–1989_гг.,___Figure_2._The_Distribution_of_the_Cabinet_Members_of_Iran_by_the_Specialization,_1979–1989,__..jpg, 119 Kb) [Download]

Figure 3. The Distribution of the Cabinet Members of Iran by the Place of Education, 1979–1989, % (Рисунок_3._Распределение_членов_правительств_Ирана_по_месту_получения_образования,_1979–1989_гг.,___Figure_3._The_Distribution_of_the_Cabinet_Members_of_Iran_by_the_Place_of_Edu.jpg, 108 Kb) [Download]

The Distribution of the Cabinet Members of Iran by the Pre-Elite Occupa-tion, 1979–1989, % (Рисунок_4._Распределение_членов_правительств_Ирана_по_профессии_до_вхождения_в_элиту,_1979–1989_гг.,__,_Figure_4._The_Distribution_of_the_Cabinet_Members_of_Iran_by_the_Pre-Eli.jpg, 114 Kb) [Download]

The Share of Clergy and the IRGC Veterans among the Cabinet Members of Iran, 1979–1989, % (Рисунок_5._Духовенство_и_ветераны_КСИР_среди_членов_прави-тельств_Ирана,_1979–1989_гг.,__._Figure_5._The_Share_of_Clergy_and_the_IRGC_Veterans_among_the_Cabinet_Members_of_Iran,_1979–198.jpg, 77 Kb) [Download]

The Provincial Origin of the Cabinet Members of Iran, 1979-1989, % (Рисунок_6._Происхождение_членов_правительств_Ирана_по_провинциям,_1979–1989_гг.,__._Figure_6._The_Provincial_Origin_of_the_Cabinet_Members_of_Iran,_1979-1989,__..jpg, 92 Kb) [Download]

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